After wrapping up Wednesday's practice, Portland State football coach
Nigel Burton gathered his players to talk.

He could have easily
given a speech similar to those coaches give all across the country, but
on this day the Vikings new coach had something much more powerful.

Standing
at his side were retired Lt. Cols. Alex Jefferson and Bill Holloman,
two of the 103 known surviving Tuskegee Airmen pilots.

What
better speakers to address the topic of the day: Mental toughness.

"You guys don't understand this, but
at the time," he said, pointing around, "this didn't exist -- a white
kid from Oregon playing with a black kid from the Bay?

"That
didn't exist."

"Even thought they were heroes and fought for
their country, when they got back they still had to go through the same
sort of racism and things and types of tyranny they were fighting
overseas to defeat," Burton said, "You talk about mental toughness --
how do you fight through that?"

Once Burton finished his
introduction, Jefferson and Holloman spoke to the hushed team. Wearing
worn leather airmen's jackets, covered in fading patches, they
passionately spoke about the importance of these young men getting
educated and taking advantage of the opportunity football had given
them.

"You've got to learn how to survive and don't be afraid of
knowledge," Jefferson said. "If you're gonna play football and be a
dummy what the hell are you gonna do after that ... if you don't know
how to deal with money you're a damn fool."

"How many damn fools
do we have?" Holloman asked, drawing laughs from the players.

The
two veterans are some of a handful of remaining Tuskegee Airmen who
travel the country speaking about their experiences and the importance
of education.

Wednesday's visit to Portland State was made
possible by former Viking offensive lineman Ken Buckles ('74-'76).
Buckles has known Jefferson and Holloman for years and has arranged many
speaking opportunities for them. He thought their messages would
resonate with Portland State's players especially in this era of excess
in college sports.

"I'm just trying to get kids to realize that
we have a pretty good lifestyle and a lot of freedom of choices," he
said. "It was paid with some pretty high costs and they need to know
that, be aware of that, remember (and) thank them."

For Burton
the visit was a no-brainer.

"The biggest thing is when you're a
football coach in college your not just a coach, you're a also a mentor,
a counselor and an advisor," he said. "Sometimes you get those rare
opportunities where you actually get to give (your players) lessons in
life and history and this was one of those opportunities we had to take
advantage of."

From the rapt looks on the players faces as
Jefferson described being shot down in German territory and spending
nine months in a prisoner-of-war camp, Burton and Buckles appeared to
have succeeded.

Senior tight end Julius Thomas introduced
himself to Jefferson and Holloman after they finished and told them he
has a poster of the Tuskegee Airmen hanging in his room. He said the
Airmen had inspired him.

"The way that they went out there with
everything stacked up against them and just showed that they could be
trusted and showed that they could do above what was expected was just
amazing," he said. "I just had to tell them it was an honor to finally
meet (a positive black role model) that's not a basketball player or a
football star.